A new study confirms that treatment of early stage lung cancer should not be delayed.
Researchers from the University of California analyzed 19,702 cases of stage I lung cancer, of which 1,432 did not undergo surgical resection or receive treatment with chemotherapy or radiation.
Among the untreated patients, median survival was 9 months overall, 13 months for patients with T1 disease, and 14 months for patients who refused surgical resection. When lung cancer specific survival was analyzed, researchers found that patients with untreated T1 tumors had a 23 percent 5-year survival rate, while those with untreated T2 tumors had a 12 percent survival rate, compared with 72 percent and 57 percent for patients with treated T1 and T2 tumors, respectively.
Researchers conclude that long-term survival is uncommon for patients with untreated stage 1 lung cancer and that treatment for early stage lung cancer should not be delayed.
This study appears in the July issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.